This page is about the meanings of the acronym/abbreviation/shorthand SIMM in the Computing field in general and in the Hardware terminology in particular.

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Definition

A SIMM, or single in-line memory module, is a type of memory module containing random access memory used in computers from the early 1980s to the late 1990s. It differs from a dual in-line memory module, the most predominant form of memory module today, in that the contacts on a SIMM are redundant on both sides of the module. SIMMs were standardised under the JEDEC JESD-21C standard.
Most early PC motherboards used socketed DIP chips. With the introduction of 286-based IBM XT/286, which could use larger amounts of memory, memory modules evolved to save motherboard space and to ease memory expansion. Instead of plugging in eight or nine single DIP DRAM chips, only one additional memory module was needed to increase the memory of the computer. A few 286-based computers used memory modules like SIPP memory. The SIPP's 30 pins often bent or broke during installation, which is why they were quickly replaced by SIMMs which used contact plates rather than pins.
SIMMs were invented and patented by Wang Laboratories. Wang invented what was to become the basic memory module, now known as a SIMM in 1983. The original memory modules were built upon ceramic and had pins. Later the pins were removed and the modules were built on standard PCB material.